For Jews living in the Diaspora, things are somewhat simpler. First, there is no battle over government budgets, and second, they are surrounded by antisemites who remind them that they are all Jews. Here in Israel, however, we are consumed by internal Jewish conflicts. There is only one chance to save ourselves from a third collapse: to find the common denominator that unites us all. It lies in the ancient, original Israeli root.

About 3,800 years ago, Abraham the Babylonian, a man of kindness, discovered that all of nature is unified. He sought to bring unity and peace among all created beings and taught, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The thousands who connected to his idea eventually became the people of Israel, as Maimonides describes in The Book of Knowledge. Until the ruin of the Temple, the nation tried to uphold this supreme principle, with many ups and downs, of course, but then unfounded hatred finally shattered the mutual bond.

If we wish to rebuild ourselves as the original Israeli nation, we must return to that same code of relationships. “Do not do to your friend what is hateful to you,” said Hillel the Elder when he summarized the entire Torah in a single sentence. All Israel are companions, responsible for one another; we are all brothers and sisters. True, there are many differences among us in our worldviews, lifestyles, and beliefs, but love can build bridges. As it is written, “Love covers all transgressions,” and in our context, those “transgressions” are all the differences and........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)